Re-boiling of tea?

Question

I used to keep tea in thermos container after preparing. But i want to know how to keep it hot when serving within 5-10 minutes.

When I reboil it as-is, then it becomes tasteless: it's like drinking boiled sweet-bitter water not a cup of tea.
When I reboil it after adding some more milk to it, still i didn't tasted good enough (the flavor lost its strength)
When I added hot milk to it before reboiling it did not come to the desired results

No matter how I reheat it, what I get is a waste and it doesn't taste good. If I am only serving after 5-10 minutes,it seems unnecessary to use a thermos. What measures i can take while boiling again, if I want a rich and full cup of tea? Should i use thermos? Or am I missing some other method?

Your second and third bullet point state exactly the same. Did you mean that you tried adding milk before and after boiling? — Mien, Mar 05 '13 at 09:48
@Mien its not tha same, in first i simply added milk(room temperature) and then reheated. While in second i added hot boiled milk to the tea before reheating. — Sunishtha Singh, Mar 05 '13 at 09:50

score 11 · Answer 1 · answered Mar 02 '13 at 21:30

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Much of the flavor and aroma of tea comes from volatile oils/compounds.

The heat applied to tea leaves while steeping them is key to releasing those volatile compounds but when you reboil the tea, a large portion the flavor compounds in the water are likely just going to be vaporized. The end result is the reheated tea will have very little 'tea' flavor left. The tannins however are less volatile and remain in the re-heated tea hence the bitterness.

A pre-warmed ceramic teapot would probably due the trick for keeping your tea warm for 5-10 minutes.

answered Mar 02 '13 at 21:30

Glenn Stevens

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+1 for your help. Answer is good enough regarding the taste of tea, the trick you shared of pre-warmed ceramic pot didn't worked out. – Sunishtha Singh Mar 03 '13 at 10:34
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@SunishthaSingh As requested in http:/a/32421/14401: Although I am not a tea drinker... my best guess is that this answer--to pre-warm a ceramic pot--so that the tea loses the least heat possible is your best approach. Liquid in contact with a large surface (like tea in a teapot) will transfer heat fairly quickly due to convection in the liquid and the large surface area to do it. Also, note that that physics here favors large batches--they will cool more slowly. So make a larger pot of tea, not just one or two cups. As a non-tea drinker, I cannot speak to the flavor issues. – SAJ14SAJ Mar 05 '13 at 04:48
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Also: use a tea cozy. Its like a blanket for your teapot :-) http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tea_cosy – SAJ14SAJ Mar 05 '13 at 04:49

score 6 · Answer 2 · answered Mar 02 '13 at 21:20

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Cast-iron teacups hold heat for quite some time. Similarly, a cast-iron teakettle can have the leaves removed and still keep the tea hot. I always use a cast-iron pot when I'm making multiple cups to drink in sequence.

answered Mar 02 '13 at 21:20

Yamikuronue

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do you use to keep lid on while preparing in multiple cups to drink in sequence to regulate the vaporization of its volatile compounds and flavor as mentioned by Glenn Stevens – Sunishtha Singh Mar 03 '13 at 10:44
@SunishthaSingh I'm not sure I understood your comment correctly but yes, I keep the lid on the pot, it holds in more heat that way. – Yamikuronue Mar 03 '13 at 14:46
does it affects to the taste of tea? – Sunishtha Singh Mar 03 '13 at 14:47
@SunishthaSingh Not significantly in my opinion. Certainly nowhere near as much as reheating – Yamikuronue Mar 03 '13 at 14:48
ty for your help, m going to try it out. :) – Sunishtha Singh Mar 03 '13 at 14:50

Carmi · Answer 3 · 2019-05-05T14:29:51.863

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You could use a tea cosy for your teapot. Put the tea cosy on the teapot as soon as you're water is boiling, and it will keep the tea warm for the next 10-15 minutes. It won't be boiling, but it doesn't need to be.

edited May 05 '19 at 14:29

answered Mar 04 '13 at 08:56

Carmi

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score 3 · Answer 4 · answered Mar 02 '13 at 21:01

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Is there a particular reason you do not want to use a Thermos? I'm not quite sure I understand the question, but steeping one cup at a time with water warmed in an electric kettle could solve the problem.

If you'd rather steep one kettle at a time instead of per-cup, steep in a thick ceramic teapot other vessel that is more likely to hold the heat over time.

Adding milk will always cool your tea.

I use one of these guys to make a single cup of hot tea and let it steep just as long as I'd like depending on the leaf at hand: http://www.thinkgeek.com/product/96bb/

answered Mar 02 '13 at 21:01

Preston

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what i follow before reheating is either adding milk, then reheating tea or adding hot milk then reheating. This process is also changed the taste of tea and its flavor affected by it. – Sunishtha Singh Mar 03 '13 at 10:35
i don't want to use thermos just for a single cup of tea that's it nothing else. And that too for 5-10 mins. – Sunishtha Singh Mar 03 '13 at 10:38

score 2 · Answer 5 · answered Mar 02 '13 at 20:56

You should try to make up your tea and keep the tea bag / herbs (or whatever you used to make it) in the thermos and reboil it with all the ingredient and just filter for serving. I have never tried but it MAY work, i will be curious if it works or not

score 2 · Answer 6 · answered Mar 02 '13 at 23:14

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This cute problem is centuries old.

Put your teapot on top of a simmering kettle on the stove. The steams from the kettle keep it at the perfect temperture and steep it properly.

answered Mar 02 '13 at 23:14

MandoMando

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how to manage temperature and taste perfectly balanced that is for what i am seeking here, i know the problem is centuries old. But i am a newbie in tea making. – Sunishtha Singh Mar 03 '13 at 10:40
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@SunishthaSingh for taste, use quality tea leaves. Many tea bags are essentially tea dust. For temperature, use the method above. Each tea blend will need its own timing (5-15mins) which will be determined by how you like it. – MandoMando Mar 03 '13 at 13:38
i m using taj mahal tea hope you have heard – Sunishtha Singh Mar 03 '13 at 13:40
i know tea quality is good enough. – Sunishtha Singh Mar 03 '13 at 13:46

score 0 · Answer 7 · answered Jan 09 '21 at 10:32

Traditionally people would make very strong tea, which would go cool or even cold, and add hot or boiling water to thin it down to drinking strength and heat it up at the same time.
The (Russian) Samovar was used in this tradition, in England they had a small teapot and a much bigger hot water 'pot'.

It does not bring your drink to boiling heat but that is right as nobody can drink boiling tea, and many people even suggest to use water that is no longer boiling (or even never came to the boil) to get the most out of your tea.

If you do not want to go to that method, the best way to use a good thermos is to pre-heat is with hot water, then replace that with boiling water for a few minutes, then poor poor out the boiling water (which is no longer really boiling) and replace it with tea without allowing the thermos to cool at all.
Depending on the quality of the thermos it should keep hot enough for you for a few hours. If yours does not keep hot enough for at least an hour, you should replace it as it is faulty.
You can improve the time a thermos keeps hot by adding an extra layer, like keeping it in a thick layer of towels or in a sleeping bag, making sure that the 'open' end is well covered.

Re-boiling of tea?

7 Answers7